Al Gambero is widely
regarded as one of Italy’s best country restaurants. The
Gavazzi family has run Al Gambero with flair and substance for four generations. Antonio Gavazzi oversees the front of the house, while his mother
Edvige and wife Paola (wo)man the stoves. A one Michelin star restaurant (but for
my money, much closer to two stars than one in merit), the Gambero is the place
to enjoy great, traditional Italian cooking. No bells and whistles: just first
rate ingredients and a quiet mastery in both their cooking and delivery to the table.
The wine list is both interesting and personal, with many great and fairly priced
wines to choose from.

There wasn’t a
single glitch on this night. The antipasto of culaccia was incredibly silky; the
spicy mostarda precise in its candied fruit and mustardy flavors, without being
so hot that one is left unable to taste anything afterwards. Culaccia is a salume very similar to culatello: just
like prosciutto, both are made from the pork’s thigh, but culaccia and
culatello have no bone. The main difference between culaccia and culatello is
that the former has the pork rind left on as protection from excessive drying
as it matures in a less humid part of the pianura padana. In any case, both are
heavenly suave and moist, and represent the Rolls Royce of salumi). The snails and potato cream were heavenly: so good in fact
that I gobbled mine up much faster than proper dining etiquette probably
warranted! The sweet, plump flesh of the fresh, tasty prawns, known here as mazzancolle, was wonderfully intense and
lifted by the light but perfumed Garda olive oil. These really tasted as if the
critters had stopped swimming only minutes before! Readers might like to know a
little more about mazzancolle (Penaeus kerathusus) a wonderful
crustacean typical of the western Mediterranean sea as they are often confused
with shrimp, if for no other reason that mazzancolle
don’t live in North American waters. Mazzancolle
(Mediterranean striped prawn, in English) are generally bigger than most shrimp
– they can easily reach 20-22 cm (especially the females) – and are unrelated
to them as well as to scampi. The latter are known as Norwegain lobsters (Nephrops norvegicus) or langoustines in French, and therefore
characterized by pincers or claws, which mazzancolle
do not have. Clearly, knowing all this would be moot if mazzancolle weren’t so heavenly and worth a detour any time you
find them on a menu.

Matching just one
wine to all these starter dishes was hard work, so I opted for something fresh
but with body, age and depth. The 2007
Tramin Pinot Grigio Unterebner is probably Italy’s best or second best oak aged
Pinot Grigio, and as this bottle attests, it can age well. The 2007 is still a
little dominated by its toasty, caramelly oak, but the racy, delicate Pinot
Grigio aromas and flavors of ripe yellow apple and pear are not drowned out by
vanilla or sweet oaky spices. Considering that many of the world’s Pinot Grigio
bottlings (not just Italian) are mainly shameful trials at turning wine into
water, the Unterebner offers serious wine lovers a glimpse of what passionate
and talented Italian producers can achieve with this noble variety.

I didn’t think I
could possibly have a better risotto than the one I tried earlier this year at Miramonti
L’Altro in Concesio, but Al Gambero’s version came very close. Rich,
luscious and creamy, the risotto went down effortlessly, slowly revealing
complex and concentrated asparagus, cream and herb flavors. I thought that Philippe Colin’s 2005 Chevalier-Montrachet
would be rich and big enough to stand up to the creamy risotto, and it was. Unfortunately,
at ten years and counting, this white Burgundy is still very much a baby, and oaky
aromas and flavors that are still too dominant. Nevertheless, the 2005
Chevalier is beautifully concentrated and pure, and so I hold out hope. I wouldn’t
touch a bottle for another four to five years, and by then, hopefully, the oak
will have mellowed out a bit allowing the fruit to shine more. It’s hard to do better
than Pinot Nero with roast kid, so choosing the 2012 Gottardi Blauburgunder Mazzon was a no-brainer. Easily Italy’s
best Pinot Nero, this bottle proved fresh and lively, with clean red and dark
berry flavors and a complicating flinty quality. Although on the light side, it
accompanied the rich leg of kid well, even if a wine with just a little more
velvety flesh would have proved a better foil here.

As I am a dessert
nut, I would normally have one or two to finish my meal, but on this night I
decided to go with a glorious wine that is a dessert in and of itself. The Royal Tokajy Wine Company’s1995 Tokaji Aszú Essencia is a real conversation
starter. Thick, rich and extremely intense, this viscous stickie is a truly
memorable effort and makes you immediately realize the chasm that exists
between any very good 5 or 6 Puttonyo wines and an Aszu Essencia. There is a
level of concentration and harmonious acidity that really lifts the
super-intense notes of raisins, orange peel, dates, burnt sugar and Islay
single malt. Clearly, the 1995 wasn’t inexpensive, but it was reasonably priced
on the restaurant’s list certainly worth a splurge. At evening’s end, I walked
out of Al Gambero happy and relaxed. The combination of an interesting and
fairly priced wine list, great food, friendly, competent service, and good
friends to share all this with is what dining memories are made of.